And then….. Something Magic Happens

I once saw a cartoon. A mathematician was trying to solve a complicated problem. He had written dozens of equations on a blackboard, each logically following the one before. Then, on step number 30, he wrote ,”something magic happens”. He then went on with more equations till he reached his conclusion.

It was a joke. But, the point is that the “magic” step nullified the entire exercise. Science has a similar problem…….actually, it has several:

The big bang……. We have no idea what it was like, what caused it, or what preceded it. It is a “magic” event that we created to fill a gap in what we know……….in what we want to believe.

The origin of life……. We have no idea how life began and even less of an idea as to how it propagated. We talk about lightning striking the primordial ooze and causing simple molecules to assemble themselves into a living, reproducing entity. But, this has never been acheived in a lab………it is just more magic.

The diversity of life…….We have no idea how we wound up with billions of different intimately interconnected life forms. We trot out Darwin and his theory. But, we cannot document the creation of a new species. More magic, masquerading as science.

Why do we do this?

Like the mathematician in the joke, we have a starting point and an end point. We are looking for a logical, scientific path to explain how we got to where we are. The trouble is that there isn’t one. So we invent “magic” steps to fill in the gaps.

The trouble is that, just as in the joke, the “magic” steps nullify the entire exercise. Without the “magic” steps, science fails to tell us what we desperately want to know.

So what do we do……….when science fails to answer the greatest question of all……….”how did we get here?”

The answer is…….that we must look outside of science.

Enter religion.

But, you say, that’s just more “magic”!

If you define magic as things beyond the limits of current 21st century science, then you are right. Religion is “magic” too.

But, that really isn’t the issue. The real issue is: “is it true?”

I’m a Christian. So, for me, the real issue is: “is the Bible true?”

I say yes…… that there is enough historical, archeological, and eyewitness evidence to support the truth of the Bible.

And furthermore, the Bible gives me a moral framework to live by:

Love God……Love you neighbor.

Science and Darwin tell me:

There is no God……eat your neighbor.

If you take a good hard look at our current political conversation……..it is driven more by scientific morality than by biblical morality. How is that working out?

There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.

Solomon?, NIV

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus, NIV